


Effortless

by storytimewritings



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Philinda - Freeform, Philinda 48 Hours, Philinda 48-Hour Identical Promptathon, spoilers for s2 ep 4, undercover married fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-31
Updated: 2014-10-31
Packaged: 2018-02-23 08:38:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2541317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storytimewritings/pseuds/storytimewritings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: Phil + Melinda somehow end up locked in a room together, alone, with no phone/radio to communicate through. What happens?</p><p>Additional details: Only the two of them can be locked in the room. There can be objects in the room if you want, or it can be empty, your choice. Any sort of *room* is acceptable (office, cupboard, cave, elevator, back of a van etc). Fic can be angsty, fluffy, smutty, anything!</p><p>Based on spoilers for Face My Enemy, Philinda are undercover married. There is dancing, being locked in a closet, making out and Skye on comms.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Effortless

**Author's Note:**

> No smut, just brief making out. Possible triggers for claustrophobia.

Coulson holds out his hand, and she accepts. It’s so much easier to pretend to be married to Melinda May than he had expected.

In a way, it’s almost effortless.

The way they hold each other’s gaze, beaming with love.

The way they stare deeply into the other’s eyes, as they twirl gracefully across the dance floor.

It’s so easy to become distracted. To forget the mission at hand. To be so affected by the small, genuine smiles May keeps throwing him and the way she looks at him with such deep affection, and love, that he can only think about the heat from her touch. He’s so distracted by her, that when she goes to whisper in his ear, he thinks that this is all still part of the act, forgetting that they are meant to be on the look out for someone.

‘He’s here,’ she says in dulcet tones, and he follows as she leads him away from the crowd.

‘Skye, he doesn’t have the briefcase with him anymore. Do you have a lock on it?’

‘Yeah May, it’s in the first office to the left. We’ll keep an eye out whilst you and Coulson grab the object, in case anyone comes back for it.’

‘Good. Let us know at the slightest sign of movement. We don’t want to be caught back there.’

‘Will do. Just make sure you two lovers don’t get too distracted,’ Skye jokes.

‘Haha Skye, just keep your mind on the mission at hand. No time for jokes. We shouldn’t be long. If something happens to May or I, you know what to do.’

‘Yeah boss, Skye out.’

Coulson rolls his eyes at May, ‘You know she’s improved a lot under you May, but you can’t seem to get rid of that humour that happens to pop up at the most inopportune moments.’

‘Well she is rather stubborn. Anyway, I know that you like that about her. You wouldn’t have it any other way.’

‘As always, you are completely right,’ he grins, thankful that for now, at least, they can be themselves.

‘Don’t you forget it. Now let’s get what we came for, and get out of here.’

So they carefully make their way to the office, May out front, ready to attack, Coulson at the back, to make sure they aren’t being followed. Their plan almost goes off without a hitch, as May searches the desk in the middle of the room, and locates the briefcase. But just as she’s about to open it, to grab the object they came for, she hears footsteps, and puts it back. She whips her head around, looking for anywhere they can hide, and spots a closet, at the same time Coulson does.

Thankfully, they reach the closet soundlessly, just before a group of men in business attire enter, a few of them guarding the entrance to the office. The closet is stifling, there’s barely any wiggle room, and Coulson can feel May against him as they watch the object being shown off. He can feel the anxiety rolling of May, that perhaps they’re too late. But then, the men exit the office, leaving the object behind, in the briefcase in the desk.

‘Hey, Skye, do you copy?’

No answer. Comms are down. At least they know why they didn’t get any warning.

He rattles the door knob, but no luck. It appears that they’re locked in.

‘May, we’re locked in, comms are down,’ he starts to panic, wondering how they’ll be able to sneak the object out if they can’t get out of the damn closet.

May appears unimpressed with his panic, rolling her eyes at him as she reaches through the slit in her dress. His face flushes, and he’s eternally grateful that it’s dark in the closet, glad that his reaction to her goes unnoticed.

There’s barely any breathing room, so he can feel her move against him as she struggles to grab whatever it is that she’s hidden…up there…

‘Got it,’ she whispers. ‘Now can you move so I can get us out of here?’

‘Easier said than done May,’ he mutters, attempting to focus on the situation at hand, rather than how good she feels pressed against him.

She shimmies past him, and he bites back a groan. Of course his body chooses this moment to betray him, whilst he’s stuck in a tiny closet with May pressed against him. How more inconvenient could it get? Praying that May’s efforts at unlocking the closet door are successful, he closes his eyes, tries to forget where they are right now. But it just aggravates his attraction to her. Without sight, he can feel her even more distinctly.

‘Done,’ she breathes faintly, and pushes the door open after listening for any presence outside the office.

He breathes a sigh of relief, certain that he wouldn’t have lasted much longer in there before May found out exactly how the close quarters made him feel.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ he states as he quickly secures the object deep in his pockets, and looks to May.

‘Someone’s coming,’ May hisses as she grasps his arm, dragging Coulson to her as she settles on top of the desk in the middle of the room. Reaching up, she caresses his face softly, before roughly pulling his face down towards hers.

He loses himself in the moment. Feels her lips against his. It starts off slow and gentle, and then she kisses him harder, faster. He clutches her tightly, trying to find himself an anchor, because this is too much. He wants her so bad.

All of a sudden, May breaks their kiss. Her face is heavily flushed, lips swollen, hair a mess. He probably doesn’t look much different. He continues to cup her face as he gazes into the depths of her eyes. She looks up into his, and the most stunning smile crosses her face. For the first time in a long time, she looks genuinely happy.

But the moment is broken when he realises why she broke their kiss. They aren’t alone. And he remembers how she grabbed him as soon as she heard voices. It was all a distraction. 

He chastises himself. What a fool he is. Because why else would May have grabbed him and kissed him senseless? He turns towards the security guards who had just entered. He supposes that he must look suitably shamed for being caught, given the sniggers and the way they elbow each other.

He turns back as May stands up and places her hand on his shoulder. He can see the look in her eyes. Play along they seem to say, before she closes her eyes and grips him tightly. He follows her lead, and captures her lips softly.

But this time, he doesn’t let himself become distracted. He hears each man leave the room. He won’t let himself become too focused on May, on what she’s doing to him, on how much he wants this moment to last forever. Just the two of them, exactly like this.

Again, she lifts her lips from his, and stares over his shoulder for a few seconds, listening carefully, before facing him. ‘They’re gone,’ she says, and for a second, he almost thinks he catches a glimpse of a blush in her cheeks. But he must’ve imagined it, because next thing, she’s back to thinking only about the mission at hand.

‘You got what we came for?’

‘Yep,’ he answers as he slips one hand into his pockets to check again.

He glances at her. She seems almost wistful. And he wonders whether it felt the same to her. Ponders the possibility that she’s also reliving the moment.

‘Phil?’ Her whispered tones strengthen his hopes. That maybe, there’s something between them.

But before she can continue, their comms burst to life, hearing Skye’s panicked voice, ‘May, Coulson, you there? We lost you for a bit. You ok?’

All business once more, May answers, ‘We’re fine Skye. We got the object. We’ll be out in a few.’

And with that, they leave, being careful to maintain the happily married couple routine, until they return to Skye’s van, a few streets over. He contemplates the potential for regret over this mission. That Coulson and May, together, can never be, that here so ends their fake story. He so wishes that it was all real, that he didn’t have to imagine a life with her, only for it to all be gone, vanishing as if it never was. Because it never was.

Skye slides open the van door, and immediately asks, ‘What’s wrong Coulson? Something happen out there?’ and he shares a brief glance with May.

He hadn’t expected his dejection to be so obvious.

‘We’re fine, Skye,’ May answers for them both, before delicately removing the wedding ring from her finger, and placing it in his palm.

He stares down at it, a reminder that the pretence is over, and murmurs,

‘Yeah, we’re all good.’

But he knows, in his heart, that he won’t ever forget. He won’t stop wishing, as futile as it is. This mission unearthed something he thought he’d long since buried.

How much he wants her.

How much he loves Melinda May.


End file.
